Trials

by Sadie Moss

I blink. Every time I think I’m getting more acclimated to the magical community, something else throws me for a loop and reminds me how much time I spent away from this world. I had no idea that was even a thing.

  “Who?”

  “Miss Chaucer.”

  My jaw falls open a little. “Kendal?”

  I’m not at all thrilled with the idea. But I do need help. And there are times when it seems like Kendal isn’t happy with her friends, and like she’s not happy with how they treat me.

  Not that she’s ever stood up for me or anything. I guess that would be too much to ask.

  But on the other hand, what do I have to lose?

  Surely the fate of the whole damn school is more important than our petty rivalry, right?

  After my last class lets out, I go looking for Kendal. I find her on the third floor of Wellwood hall, in the large school library—which I have to admit makes me like her, or at least respect her, a bit more already. Alyssa wouldn’t be caught dead in a library.

  Kendal’s bent over some books, copying passages into a notebook next to her, and I tap her on the shoulder.

  She squeaks in surprise and nearly drops her pen, then looks up at me. Her eyes go wide. “Oh! Um… hey, uh, Elliot.”

  “Hey.” I take a seat next to her. Maybe it’s a good thing I found her here. You have to be quiet in a library, and it’s a public space, so the combination of those two things should keep this from turning into a fight if she’s feeling hostile. “Professor Goldstein suggested I ask you for help with the Trials. Apparently your family’s big into competitions like this?”

  Kendal nods, setting her book aside and tucking a lock of auburn hair behind her ear. “My sisters are really well known. I’ve got two of them. One older, one younger. My parents hoped I’d be the same. They had me doing preliminary competitions—ones for people who don’t have their powers yet—but after my Unpredictable magic surfaced… well, that pretty much disqualified me from all future events.”

  I lean back in my chair. “Oh, damn. That sucks.”

  She grimaces. “A little. My parents were heartbroken, and my sisters still can’t get over it. But honestly, I was a little… relieved. I’m not competitive the way they are. I get all nervous and shaky, and I don’t like the pressure.”

  That doesn’t surprise me. Kendal’s not the slightest bit confrontational. “But you know how competitions like this work.”

  “Oh, yes, I have the training.” She hesitates. “But—but would you really want to work with me? I mean… given…”

  “Look, do you want the school to do well?”

  Kendal nods vigorously. “Of course I do! If I don’t have this school, I’m nothing.”

  Well, that’s… holy shit.

  We don’t have time to unpack all of that right now, but then again, I’m pretty sure that’s how most of us feel about this school. We’re Unpredictables. This is the one place we’re welcomed without question, the one place set up to train people like us. It’s not like we’ve got a ton of other choices.

  “Then you’ll help me?” I ask, leaning forward again.

  Her blue eyes narrow warily. She doesn’t seem very excited about the idea, and I admit, I’m not all that fond of it either. But I’ll do whatever it takes to win. And if that means a temporary alliance with Kendal, then sure, why the fuck not?

  My classmate seems to be thinking something along the same lines, because after a moment, she tentatively sticks her hand out for me to shake.

  “I’ll help,” she says. “For the school’s sake.”

  We shake on it and that’s that.

  I just hope it’s enough to get me through.

  Chapter 19

  That night, I can’t sleep. Despite my best efforts to relax, I lie in bed staring at the ceiling and wondering what the hell’s going to happen at the competition tomorrow. Wondering what the challenge will be. How it’ll go. If I’ll fail on my own, or if someone else will make me fail.

  But I can’t. I can’t fail.

  When it was just my own mistakes or my lack of control bringing me down, that was one thing. But someone actively working against me? Fuck them. If I lose something fair and square, sure. Okay. I lost. But to lose because someone’s messing with me? Because someone can’t handle a “freak” like me winning? That shit isn’t okay.

  I have to beat them.

  The guys are all asleep, but I can’t lie still any longer. I get dressed silently and slip out, sneaking into Wellwood Hall. It reminds me of when I snuck around the building back when I was trying to figure out who was attacking students, and how I ran into Roman in a dark hallway.

  Heat floods me.

  Mmm. That’s a pleasant memory… or at least, the Roman part of it is.

  But unlike that night, when the school felt eerie and fraught with danger, when I worried a secret attacker could be lurking around any corner, I feel safe now. The jerks sabotaging me clearly want to do it in full view at the competition, so I doubt they’ll jump me in the dead of night. Plus, I’m much more confident navigating the school itself now. I know my way around.

  It’s like home, I realize with a jolt.

  Somewhere along the way, somehow, I came to feel comfortable in this place.

  Huh. It’s… it’s kind of terrifying. I haven’t thought of anything as a home besides my little apartment with Maddy, and even then, I never knew when we might have to move in a hurry if the rent got too high.

  I make my way to the Combat classroom and start running some drills. I have no clue what the next trial is going to cover, so I have to be prepared for literally anything.

  “Burning the candle at both ends, Sin?”

  Even without the nickname, I know it’s Cam by his voice. I let my fists drop and turn to face him.

  He’s slouching against the door frame, hands in his pockets, grinning softly at me. Cam doesn’t ever just smile—he’s too energetic for that. He always grins.

  “And here I thought I’d snuck out successfully.” I wrinkle my nose.

  He shrugs, walking over. “We know you too well by now.”

  My brows shoot up. “Oh, really? Is that so?”

  “Yup. Sorry to break it to you.” His grin fades as he looks around, seeing the evidence of the magic I’ve been practicing. “You should be sleeping.”

  I shake my head. “No. I have to practice—”

  “You’ve been practicing.” Cam gently places his hands on mine, his thumbs rubbing back and forth across my knuckles. “You’ve done everything you can do. Last-minute cramming isn’t going to do anything except leave you too tired tomorrow.”

  “I can’t sleep,” I blurt out. “I can’t stop thinking about—I need to win this, Cam. I need to. And if I can’t sleep, if my thoughts are just spinning around in my head… then I might as well get some more practice in, right?”

  He steps closer, and I know what he’s doing, I can see it in the gleam of his eyes, but I let him as his hands move to my hips and he gently nudges my head back with his nose.

  “What you need is to relax,” he murmurs. Slow kisses are being planted down my neck, and I shiver, my vision blurring a little.

  “Cam…”

  “The more you push right now, the more you’re going to feel frustrated and doubtful of yourself tomorrow. Let it go for tonight, Sin.” He kisses right below my ear, squeezing my hips and pulling me flush against him.

  I can feel him getting hard against me, his cock swelling, and I can feel myself getting wet in response. We didn’t go as far as we could have the other night with Asher and God, I want to. I want Cam inside me, want to know what it feels like to be surrounded by his sunshine.

  “You’re going to do great,” he promises in a soft whisper that stirs my hair. His fingers have found their way under my t-shirt and are rubbing small circles on my skin, making my breath hitch. I want those fingers all over my body, worshipping me, torturing me, teasing me like I know he will. “You’re working hard, and you’re brave a
nd stubborn as all hell. It’s gonna be okay. Right now, you need to let go and trust that you’ve got this. You need to distract yourself, relax, and rest.”

  His words don’t make my fears go away—I don’t think anything could do that—but they do draw a smile to my face. I tangle my fingers in his golden-blond hair, dropping my head back as his lips trace the line of my neck. “Hmm… You have any ideas about how to distract and relax me?”

  Cam’s hand moves to my ass, squeezing and grinding me right up against where his hard cock is pressing through his pants. I whimper before I can stop myself, my breath hitching. Oh God, yes, please.

  “You bet your pretty ass I do.”

  I tilt my chin back down, meeting his bright blue gaze. “Then help me, Cam. Please.”

  He doesn’t need more invitation than that. His mouth lands on mine, and where his kisses up and down my neck were teasing and light, this kiss is hot and fierce. He lifts me into his arms, and I wrap my legs around him, crushing my body against his.

  Cam is a good fucking kisser. Our mouths were fused together the whole time Asher went down on me in that classroom, and not to take any credit away from Ash’s wickedly talented tongue, but I might’ve been able to come from Cam’s kiss alone. He doesn’t hold anything back, sliding his tongue against mine in quick, hungry strokes while his hands squeeze my ass.

  He walks me over to a pile of mats stacked in one corner and sets me down on them, his body covering mine. I scoot backward a bit and he follows me so we’re both lying on the mats, which form a kind of makeshift bed and are way better than the floor. Now that he doesn’t have to hold me up, his hands make quick work of my shirt, tugging it over my head before his mouth attacks my breasts, sucking and biting at my tender flesh through the thin fabric of my bra.

  I arch up into his touch, moaning as my nipples pebble. I’m aware that at some point I should probably stop having sex in public places, but it’s after midnight, and hey, at least we’re in a room with a door, right?

  He breaks away from my boobs when I tug on his shirt, allowing me to pull it over his head before he unclasps my bra. He slides it off my arms, and for a second, we just stop and stare at each other.

  Jesus Christ. He’s fucking perfect.

  His skin is lightly tanned, and his muscles are sculpted and defined in a way that makes it clear he takes his workouts seriously. His chest is smooth, and a little trail of hair runs from just below his bellybutton to disappear beneath the waistband of his low-slung jeans.

  I lick my lips, so turned on by the sight of him that I barely notice he’s staring at me the exact same way until he speaks.

  “God, Sin. You’re so beautiful.”

  His voice is rough and honest, and the sound travels straight to my clit, making me squirm beneath him. I reach up and pull him down to me, kissing him hard as I rub my body against his. We’re skin to skin for the first time, and it feels so amazing I want to stay like this forever.

  Somewhere in the midst of our kiss, my hands find their way to the button of his jeans, and I’m about to get rid of the rest of our pesky clothes when it hits me.

  Condom.

  Ah, fuck.

  I don’t have one, and seeing as how Cam just snuck out to follow me across campus in the middle of the night, I’m guessing he doesn’t either. Goddamn it. I’m almost far gone enough not to care, to go without one and let him finish on my stomach or something, but… we haven’t talked about this with any of the other guys. I know they’re okay with sharing me, and I know they’re aware that includes sex, but taking this step without discussing it with all of them feels like it would be super shitty.

  Regret and thwarted desire burn through me as I put my hands on Cam’s chest, gently pushing him away from me.

  His blue gaze immediately finds mine, concern in his eyes. “What? What is it, Sin? Is something wrong?”

  “No!” I slide my hands up his chest, then grimace. “Well, yeah. I mean, what you were doing was amazing, but we… we should probably stop. I don’t have a condom, and I—”

  A grin spreads across his face, and I blink in surprise. That wasn’t the reaction I was expecting.

  Before I can question him on it though, he reaches into his back pocket and pulls out a foil-wrapped packet from his wallet. He must notice my eyebrows drawing together in surprise, because he flushes slightly, still grinning.

  “I’ve… been carrying it around ever since the Inter-academy Ball. Sometimes things with you happen a little spontaneously, and I wanted to be prepared. Just in case.”

  A strange wave of emotion crashes over me, too many feelings hitting me at once for me to sort them all out. I’m relieved we don’t have to stop, amused that he’s such a damn Boy Scout, and touched that he knows me so well. That he wants this with me—has been hoping for it.

  Inexplicably, tears prick my eyes as words I should absolutely not say dance on the tip of my tongue.

  I don’t want him to see my expression, and I need his lips on mine, so with an inarticulate noise, I haul him back down to kiss me.

  Now that we know we won’t have to stop, there’s nothing holding either of us back. In a few moments, we’re both completely naked, and when Cam finally sheaths himself and slides inside me, I find a new definition of heaven.

  It’s this. It must be this.

  His cock stretches and fills me in just the right way, and his skin is warm against mine, his sandalwood scent tickling my nose.

  And I was right. Having sex with Cam is like being surrounded by sunshine, by every good and happy thing in the world. His strokes are steady and even, and he kisses me the whole time he fucks me, delving his tongue into my mouth, dropping sweet kisses to my cheeks, my nose, my eyelids. His hands frame my face, cradling it like I’m something precious, and he only pulls away to look down at me when I come.

  I cry out loudly, convulsing around him, and he follows me after a few more strokes, our gazes locked together.

  When we finish, he slumps on top of me, breathing hard into the crook of my neck.

  My hands run up and down his muscled back as I suck in air too, and I realize that for the first time in days, the part of my brain that’s been overloaded with worries, anger, and stress… is blissfully blank.

  Chapter 20

  As amazing as sex with Cam is—and holy shit, my legs are still shaky for a while afterward—not even he has the power to make the entire competition go away.

  The next morning, I have to report for duty.

  The seven other contestants and I are put in the middle of the quad once again, with the gathered spectators in the stands watching us. I feel a sudden rush of gratitude that Maddy isn’t here. I’d want to do well for her—I always want to do well for her, damn it, to set a good example and make her proud of me—and I don’t need that added pressure when I have to deal with goddamn cheaters.

  It pisses me off like nothing else, the idea that my fate, win or lose, is no longer in my own hands, but in someone else’s.

  Hardwick walks up to the podium and announces to both the contestants and the crowd how this challenge is going to go, and I get a rush of adrenaline as I hear him explain what the trial will be.

  It’s a combat simulation.

  Immediately, the knot of fear in my stomach unclenches a little. Now this, this I fucking know how to do. I can kick anyone’s ass—except maybe Dmitri’s, and I even sometimes get the better of him. This is my jam.

  “None of your opponents are real, although they will look and even feel like it,” Hardwick reminds us. “They are all illusions, run by our gifted illusionists from Houdini University. Please be sure to thank the staff for their hard work in creating these spells for us to use. And now, without further ado…”

  All of the contestants are spaced far apart, each in the middle of our own circle. It’s like the battle royale: you lose when you’re pinned or if you step outside the circle. I’m pretty sure the illusions can’t go outside the circle either or they’ll disappe
ar. That keeps them from slipping into another contestant’s field by accident.

  “Begin!” Hardwick shouts.

  Immediately, three men appear around me—big guys who look like boxers. Okay, yeah. I can do this.

  I was pretty scrappy before I came to this school, and I’ve now had several months of intense physical conditioning and combat training. So I’m no fucking slouch at this kind of stuff, and honestly, I like it. I’m a physical person, and I may or may not have some anger issues to work out.

  At first, the illusions just come at me one at a time, which I can definitely handle. But then they start coming at me all at once, making me spin and duck and dance around the ring to avoid getting boxed in. Hardwick wasn’t kidding about these illusions seeming real—I get clocked in the head by one of the three bruisers, and it fucking hurts.

  Okay, time to pull out the big guns.

  I throw both hands out in front of me, unleashing a sonic boom at all three of them. It’s still been giving me some trouble, but at this point, I don’t care if I can’t quite control it. It’s not like these guys are real anyway, so no biggie if I accidentally pulverize them.

  But to my horror, they barely react at all.

  The magic felt strong when it flew from my hands, but aside from a quick stumble backward, the three huge men aren’t even affected by it.

  Shit. It’s probably because they’re illusions. They’re not governed by the same physical laws the rest of us are, so my sonic booms don’t affect them the same way. That’s gonna make this trickier.

  Falling back on my combat training, I focus on isolating them as much as I can, trying to to lure them away from each other so I can force at least one of them outside the circle.

  And then… a new creature shimmers into existence above me.

  Fuck.

  It’s hard for me to see what my fellow contestants are doing since I’m a little preoccupied with not getting my ass lit on fire by the goddamn miniature dragon I’m battling, but when I do get glimpses—

  Wait a second.

  Is it just me, or are my opponents a lot harder than the ones they’re up against?